Treating shoe linings



June /6,' 1939. v

D. LA VALLE TREATING SHOE -LININGS Filled Dec. 24, 1936 Pneue ,im e,1939 PATENT OFFICE 2.1mm` 'rnaATlNG snor: umNG's nominick 'La valle, NewYnrk, N. Y.,'assigno`r to4 United Shoe.Macl1inery Corporation, Paterson,N. J.,{a corporation of New Jersey l/ l 3 Claims. invention relates to amethod of treating raw-edgedstock, such as is found in shoe linings,and/.5to a shoe construction embodying a lining tre/ated in accordancewith this method.

,Shoes are frequently constructed with leather .5 linings of acontrasting and usually a lighter color than the outside-ofthe shoe.Such linings, freassembled upper to be passed between compres-- sionmembers thereby to reduce the thickness of the lining. Efforts have evenbeen made to conceal this raw edge, .as by curling vthe upper in wardlyto hide the lining. These treatments are 2o expensive and not whollysuccessful..

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method oftreating raw-edged stock, such as shoe linings. so that the edge will beless conspicuous. A AThe leather which is employed for shoe linings isusually light colored and is soft and flexible and for this reason thebers are not well,consolidated.v Consequently, when the lining istrimmed to fit the upper to which it has been stitched, the raw edgefrequently is fuzzy and has tiny bunches and streamers which renderitall the more conspicuous against the darker background of the'adjacent'shoe'uppen Accordingly, one aspect of the invention resides in thetreatment, over an area which does not have to be accurately defined aslong as it surely includes the final margin, of such 'a piece of leatherby a material having some adhesive or binding qualities which willconsolidate the V leather bers, thereby reducing the apparentV '40thickness ofthe leather and, in some cases, re-

ducing the actualthickness. Such consolidation increases the density ofthe leather and makes it easier to trimfwith a clean cut.

It would-bedesirable to ink the exposed edge of'- the lining to make itscolor conform to that of the adjacent upper but, 4in view of itsthinness and the further factthat it. is notv desired todiscolor the`exposed v inner grain surface fof the leather Y. lining, such an inkingis impractical except inv making the highest grades of shoes where -highwEeSale paid for applying ink to the edges-of linings with'a very finebrush. Howeven'the lnvention, in another aspect. resides in thetreatment of the inner margin of the leather lining adjacent to the naledge by means of an ink Application December 24, 193e, serial No.117,549

(ci. lz-us) which will penetrate through a part of thethickv- 'ness ofthe lining andthereby change the color of a portion of the exposed edgewithout discoloring the grain surface.

From another viewpoint, the invention resides in a shoe lining, or in a-shoe constructionembodying such a lining, in whichthe exposed raw' edgeis colored across a portion of its width. This color preferably blendswith or matches that of the adjacent upper or ofthe French binding mwhich may have been applied to the edge of the upper and minimizes theapparent thickness of the exposed edge of the lining. At the same time,the edge portion may be made denser and consolidated and 'made lessnoticeable. 13

T he invention will be best 'understood from a consideration of thefollowing specification, taken in connection with the accompanyingldrawing, in

which v.which remains untreated. .Y

v The manner of application of ink to the margin of the inner surface ofthe lining is not a part of my invention and I have, accordingly, shownit as 30 `carried out by means of any suitable device or.

tool, such as a brush I Il, drawn along the flesh surface of the liningl2 to apply a stripe Il of an ink which will combine the consolidatingand coloring features previously mentioned., The 35 term ink is Vhereused in its generic sense to include any dye or other coloring material;A Y binder or consolidating agent, such as agum, wax.

adhesive, resin or the like may be embodiedl in the ink compound to aidin securing the desired result. 40

In many factories, it is the practice to vcut the lining larger than thequarter so that it extends above the upper edge thereof, to assist inlasting or the like. In that case, the 4areaof the lining 4 whichwill'be`treated is a stripe spaced from the 45 actual edge of' thelining and which will be wide enough to surely include the line of cutI5 which will form the edge of the lining in the ilnished shoe.,The'formation of a raw edge is sometimes done at Athe time of topstitching, i. e., when form- 50 ingthe seam 26 this being-accomplishedby a knife on the sewing machine. In other cases, the

' liningv is trimmed by means of a special trimmin machine, usuallyafter lasting.

-A shoe upper, around-the margin ofthe foot 55 opening, usuallycomprises a piece of upper leather I6, the upper edge of which may beconcealed by means of French binding I8 held thereto by stitching 20 andturned over the edge of the upper, being usually stuckto the esh surfacethereof at 22. The lining is usually attached to theupper by a row oftop-stitching 26,

leaving its raw edge 24 exposed just inside the French binding I8. Ifthis raw edge is untreated, as indicated` at 30, it will be fuzzy and,upon close examination, will be seen to comprise tufts or streamers 3 2,3l which are particularly conspicuous where they lie immediatelyadjacent to the French binding I8. v

If the lining has been treated as indicated in Fig. 1, then these berswill be consolidated, re-

ducing the thickness of the lining, as shown at 36, and discoloring aportion of the width or thickness of the exposed edge, as indicated at38. 'I'his discoloration will obviously extend down into the margin ofthe leather, as at l0, but this does not matter because no attempt ismade to treat an exact width of margin and itis convenient to extend thetreatment over an area which will be large in comparison vwith thethickness of the lining. The exposed edge of the treated portion 36 oflthe lining will not only be reduced in actual thickness, presumablybecause o f the adhesive qualities of the material which has beenemployed, but also present' an edge ad- When the trimming is done, acleaner cut may be made because of the denser and stiier condition ofthe leather. 'I'he invention also iinds utility in the treatment ofareas surrounding eyelet holes or other perforations, cut-outs and thelike, and may be applied to the upper stock around such openings.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A shoe construction having an upper and a lighter colored liningassembled with the upper so that the raw edge oi theliningis exposedbeside the upper at an opening in the shoe and so that one surface ofthe lining is exposed within the shoe, part only of the thickness of theexposed iow edge of the lining having a coloration darker than that ofthe exposed surface of the lining and similar to that of the adjacentupper, the apparent [thickness of the lining being thereby minimizedvand the exposed surface of the lining being unaffected by saidcoloration. .l

2. A shoe upper, the exposed edge of which is nished, and a leatherlining for said upper, said lining having its exposed grain surface of.a color contrasting with that of the nished edge, said lining havingits concealed margin adjacent to the finished edge treated with an inkof a color vsimulating that of said edge, and which has only partlypenetrated4 the lining and hence has colored part of the raw edge of thelining adjacent to the nishd edge of the upper, thereby minimizing itsapparent thickness. l

3. The method of making a shoe upper comprising a light-colored leathershoe lining having its grain surface exposed-in the finished shoeA whichconsists in applying directly to the esh surface of said lining an inkof a. color contrasting with that of the lining, said ink` being of aquality and in a quantity to penetrate only part of the thickness of thelining and without discoloring the grain surface of the lining, saidapplication being along a band including the line correspond'- ing tothe edge of the' upper leather, combining said lining with the upperleather by a seam near the coated band with the lining extendingI beyondthe upper leather, and trimming said lining within the coated band.

